Finding Seniors Discounts When Traveling

Written by:aceline

Written on:February 12, 2011

Many people may not be aware of this, but there is a significant amount of older people traveling around the world. There’s a common perception that most travelers are young people, but people over the age of fifty travel quite a lot as well – so much so that they are responsible for around 80% of all leisure travel spending. Seniors go farther away from home, take longer vacations and travel more often than any other age group.

There are several reasons as to why seniors travel more. After spending thirty or more years in the workforce, seniors often have more disposable income from savings than younger people, especially since they’re no longer supporting children. If a senior is retired or only working part time, they have more time to go on vacation. Once the money and time factors have been taken care of, there’s nothing to stop a senior from going on the vacation they’ve always dreamed about. If you’re a senior getting ready to embark on the journey of a lifetime, here are some tips on how to go about finding senior discounts when traveling.

Always make sure to ask if there’s a senior discount. Companies aren’t going to volunteer this information unless you ask – why should they if they can get away charging you with the full price? And even if a particular company doesn’t offer a senior discount, they may create one just for you since they would prefer to have your business than watch you go to someone else who offers a discount.

Check out different sales venues. Sometimes it may not matter how you purchase something, but oftentimes it does. For example, if you’re making a reservation online there may not be any information available about senior discounts or any way to apply a discount. However, if you make a call to the company and do your business over the phone, you can take advantage of the discount. The opposite can also be true – there might be a discount only available online and people who are buying over the phone or in a physical location are losing out.

Carry a form of identification that confirms your actual age. Even though it may be obvious that you’re a senior, some companies will refuse to give you a discount because they require actual proof of your age. If you’re lucky enough to look younger than you actually are, having an ID is especially important. If you belong to a organization that provides senior discounts such as the AARP or AAA, always keep your membership card on you because companies will not just take your word that you belong to that organization.

Don’t restrict yourself to the senior discount. Check to see if there are any other discounts being offered that have nothing to do with age. Those discounts may be even better ones! When inquiring about discounts, ask for the best rates rather than just for the senior rates – you may get different answers.

This post was provided by Ryan Embly from the website CarRentalExpress.com. They provide cheap rental cars in cities all over the world.